General Mental Health Screening Tool (GMHST)
This tool can be used with the assistance of parents who understand their children better. It provides information that can be used in understanding what the child is experiencing or what he or she is going through. The checklist will require the presence of a parent so that they can rate the behavior of their child on different occasions using words such as “never,” “sometimes,” and “often,” (Hogan, 2018). Some of the behaviors measured include trouble concentrating, the ability to understand other people’s behaviors or feelings of happiness and sadness. This tool screens different issues, which may include the possibility of the child having ADHD, anxiety, conduct, or depression issues. Once the parent has finished answering all the questions, the scores are submitted online, and a report is generated. Positive ratings are an indication that the child could benefit from being evaluated further by qualified mental or medical professionals (Hogan, 2018).
ADHD Screening Tool (ADT)
This tool comprises all the symptoms of ADHD in a list of statements which the respondent responds to using simple “no” or “yes.” After all the questions have been answered, the respondent can click on a “see test results” button to know scores, and to determine if the child needs any further evaluation by a mental or health professional (Hogan, 2018). The test breaks down the responses into two types of ADHD, hyperactive or inattentive. This enables the respondent to understand how the child’s behavior matches the ADHD symptoms provided.
Advantages and Disadvantages
One advantage of using GMHST is that they allow for early detection and treatment of mental or behavioral problems in adulthood. If psychological or behavioral conditions are detected early enough, they might escalate into serious problems later in life. Early detection, therefore, can enable a parent to understand what their children are going through and what help they might need. However, one major limitation associated with this tool is that it generalizes the conditions that many people could be going through. Mental and behavioral problems that different people go through are various. Restricting them to the questions of this tool might not give an accurate picture of what some children could be experiencing.
On the other hand, ADHD assessment tools are also advantageous because they can allow parents to understand whether they should be worried about their children’s behaviors. However, these tools are limited because it is normal for children to exhibit certain disruptive behaviors during childhood; using ADHD tools on children as young as 13 years might not give an accurate picture of the child’s condition. What is perceived as being ADHD could actually be healthy children’s behaviors.
Convincing the Client to Accept therapy
To convince the client to accept therapy, I would tell them its importance and assure them that I will be there to support them. I will assure them I am willing to help them overcome their problems because what they are going through in normal and can be solved through therapy. Once the client is assured of continued support, they will be willing to give therapy a try.